After two years of anticipation, Game of Thrones returned for their final season in 2019 to a lukewarm negative reception. It made everyone question how can a show like that dip in quality episode after episode in one season. It got so bad, that it made season 8 of The Walking Dead look like a masterpiece (unpopular opinion, but I love that season since the source material is also my favorite arc) and that is quite telling. I have been a fan of this show since the beginning and although I have never reviewed an episode, I always shared my thoughts to my friends and fans in different places whether if the episode was good or bad. But all of it was not bad though since there are a few good moments that came out of this season. Today, I will rank the best and worst moments of the final season of Game of Thrones.
THE BEST
Brienne is Finally Knighted
While Brienne and Jaime and the rest were waiting for the White Walker army to arrive for the huge battle that will happen, there was a ceremony that took place. Torment questions Brienne about becoming a knight, Brienne said that she could not become one due to tradition. That tradition was about to be broken as she becomes the first woman to become a knight in Westeros. This was a powerful moment in the series as we thought that would never happen in the universe of Game of Thrones and it was much deserved for her to become a knight. Everything that she has been through has come to this as Jaime says that he can knight whoever he wants and he chose to knight her.
Jon and Arya’s Reunion
This was a moment seven seasons in the making as the last time these two seen each other, was in season one. They reunited on the first episode of the 8th season and the fan inside of me came out to clap for this moment as I realized myself that they have not seen eachother in a very long time. Seeing this scene really got me excited for the rest of the season (This was before that it all went under after episode 3).
Lyanna Mormont vs. The Giant Knight
During the Battle of Winterfell, Lyanna proved that she can fight and she tried to step up to attack The Giant Knight with her Dragonglass Axe. She did succeeded, but it came with a brutal consequence as she was squeezed by him to death. She did manage to stab him right in the eye to kill The Giant, but it was her last breath as she died shortly afterwards. Lyanna was one of my favorite characters so this made me sad.
Death of Theon
Theon has went through a very rough time during his entire run on the show. From him being tortured for most of the series, to seeing the horrible things Ramsay did to his sister, it was hell and back for him all because he did not know that he is a member of the Stark family. I did not think his death would come very early as the Night King stabbed him through the chest and tossed his body away from him. Long live Theon.
The Battle of Winterfell and The Death of The Night King
Game of Thrones has always had some of the greatest battles on television that we will all remember. This battle that took place on the third episode has been building up since the Night King was introduced. Although mostly nobody could see the battle on their televisions due to the very dark screen, it was worth watching it if you brightened your television. The army of the dead has poured in and everyone tries their best to take them all out. The death of the Night King was also very satisfying and nobody would have expected Ayra to kill the King as well. In my opinion, this season peaked on this episode and no episode could not top that.
THE WORST
Euron’s Ambush
This one puzzled me since I have seen it and even the writers of the show tried to defend this. Nothing makes sense at all during this scene as Daenerys and her two dragons had to return south after the big battle, and then suddenly, a large crossbow bolt pierces Rhaegal a few times as his body comes crashing down. Although when we first seen The Scorpions a few seasons ago say that a dragon would someday go down, this could have been better executed as Daenerys was in the air and could have seen those ships from a far distance. The writers of the show said that Daenerys forgot about the ships. But how could that be possible when it was mentioned to her in another scene a few minutes before this scene even aired.
Missandei’s Death
I have a mixed feeling about this one. On one hand, I had a feeling that she was going to die before the final episode and that was way before her death got leaked. On the other, this just felt like a comic book story where the woman is killed to serve the purpose of building development of the male that is attached to her. Plus it is the final season so who is going to care anymore after this? Cersei is however not the same person anymore ever since that walk of shame so I did took her more of a serious approach ever since.
Daenerys’ Story
How do you go from one of the best written characters on television to being the worst written characters on television. Seeing her change from a good girl gone bad is as effective as Dean Ambrose’s WWE heel run. Nobody believed it and it felt rushed and unorganic to the viewer. The worst out of character moment we have seen her do is burn the entire city down which also killed millions of innocent families and children. Ridicilous choice to turn her character upside down.
The Production
It felt like the producers did not care anymore when it came to not only writing the show, but leaving objects in plain view such as a coffee cup and a empty water bottle on the final season. But the biggest production error I have seen is when Jaime somehow grew his hand back at one of the scenes. All of this along with the messy and choppy screenwriting made this season one of the worst in recent memory. When the Iron Throne was burned down to the ground, that right there told me to put this show out of its misery.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content and subscribe to The Wrestling Court as we talk about the latest in pro wrestling, pop culture, and comics along with our live watch reactions to past matches. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.